America has always made whiskey and moonshine. One of the first taxes levied against American businesses to help pay for a nation at war and in debt was the Whiskey Tax.

We love our freedom, and we’ll fight tooth and nail to defend it. We also love to drink more than any other nation in the world, a fact our founding fathers did not ignore as they looked for ways to put our nation on solid footing.

In a recent interview with the Cumberland Business Journal, Short Mountain Distillery CEO Billy Kaufman said it’s time we start “drinking American.”

“Americans should be drinking moonshine, not vodka,” says Kaufman.

Kaufman said if distilled correctly (resulting in 80 to 100 proof), moonshine is fairly neutral tasting, meaning it can be mixed in a variety of combinations. That, he said, is the same premise of vodka, which is the top selling liquor in America.

“People aren’t drinking vodka because it tastes good,” he said.

Kaufman firmly believes that having a toast or celebrating an occasion with spirits is the American way and part of the American culture. To that end, he thinks Americans should be “drinking American.”

We’ve got an awesome local crew working on this 1,900 square feet building that will soon become the distillery’s stillhouse #1.

This stillhouse will allow us to test formulas and processes, train people, host meetings and workshops and serve as transition space for the main facility. Stillhouse #1 should be complete in April. Right about when it’s as uncomfortable as it can get to cook a batch of moonshine should be about when we’re ready.

Sometime before the stillhouse is built it’s planting time on Short Mountain. It takes a farmer’s instinct to know just the right time to plant and good old American muscle to get it done. We’re 19 days away from Spring, and there’s about 7 acres of organic corn we’ve got to get planted if we’re going to cook it this year.  Wait until you see the mule team we’re fueling up to plant our corn.

You can probably guess that Short Mountain Distillery is located on Short Mountain, but try telling that to your GPS.

And try telling visitors to meet you at the barns a few times. That’s when we thought about getting an address.

After calling around we found out the drive on the farm is so long it qualifies as a lane they’d like for us to name.

It sounds like an awesome opportunity, but we sure could use your help. What do you suggest we name our lane? Your idea could become a part of our history.

Here’s what our address would look like:

Short Mountain Distillery
__________ Ln.
Woodbury, TN 37190

UPDATE 02/23/11 10:04 a.m.: It’s Official! Short Mountain Distillery will be located at 119 Mountain Spirits Lane, Woodburry, TN 37190!

We want to thank everyone for your amazing suggestions as we considered names for our road. You are helping us build an American brand we can all be proud of.

A lot of you used “Spirits” and “Mountain” in various way, but two of you actually suggested our name: John and Jelly below and Zendel Murphy on Facebook. Thank you for your role in our history, and we’ll be in touch to figure out the best way to thank you.

Architect Marcus Dipietro and Short Mountain Distillery CEO Billy Kaufman on a conference call with David Pickerell

It would take you a few hours to walk the nearly five mile perimeter of Billy Kaufman’s 300 acre farm on Short Mountain near Woodbury in Cannon County. By the time you’re sitting on the porches of Short Mountain Distillery with friends and family, we will probably have walked that a few times over.

This weekend, Marcus Dipietro came out to walk some of the farm with Billy and me to begin looking for the perfect spot to build the distillery. As we walked the land, our conversation turned to our team’s foundational values and how the distillery design can best express those values for generations to come.

The Golden Rule, community, heritage, stewardship, craftsmanship, and our connection to the land. These are some of the core values and archetypes of the dream unfolding here, and we aim to make it a testament to a way of life that makes America strong.

Be sure to pick up the January / February edition of Wilson Living Magazine, and check out this wonderful story written by Chris Tramel who recently paid us a visit on the farm.

Here’s an excerpt from the article online:

Kaufman says Short Mountain Distillery is a chance to bring history full circle. “This is part of the culture of the area. We can take what my great-grandfather did in getting started in this area, and now use it to keep people in this area.”

According to Kaufman it will be at least a year before even a drop of whiskey is produced, but with a building only in the planning stages, the first fields have been plowed for next year’s corn crop. “We’re going to make aged whiskey, and that will take a while. To start out we’ll probably employ less than a dozen people directly, but we hope to see it grow into something bigger.”

However, Kaufman says his company will also have a commitment to the community by growing organically and using local resources as part of their operation. That commitment will mean more jobs not directly related to the distillery.

“We’ll only be buying local corn. It’s all going to be coming out of this area. We don’t want to put a single thing in our whiskey that’s not local. I feel more strongly about buying local than growing organically.

Fermentation expert and Cannon County resident Sandor Katz has been working on the farm for some time introducing the use of organic composts and compost teas to our agricultural processes. It’s one of the many sustainable agricultural values future visitors will experience at Short Mountain Distillery.

Sandor was recently featured in the November 22 edition of The New Yorker magazine for his work advancing a live-culture food revolution. As the article notes, Sandor’s two books – “Wild Fermentation” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved” are must reads for a new generation of underground food activists.

We are very fortunate to have Sandor working with us as we begin integrating centuries old distilling practices with the 300 acre farm.

IT’S ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY: Last week, Sandor whipped up a big brew of compost tea that Billy and John sprayed on the newly plowed organic corn field. The practice will be repeated regularly and replace an unsustainable and costly practice of applying chemical fertilizer to the farm environment.

The processes Sandor is putting in place now will eventually transform some of Short Mountain Distillery’s grain product into an environmentally safe fertilizer. The process is amazing to watch and demonstrates a genuine bottom-up level of care for the life of the farm and quality of spirits we will produce.

Besides whiskey and moonshine, the process of distillation creates a usable grain product that is perfect for farm life. The grain mash from the distillery can be consumed by farm animals as well as crops. The distillery will produce tons of grain product annually.

HOW IT’S DONE: To get the grain into a consumable product for crops, the grain will first be fed to livestock whose manure will be composted with other organic material.

Next, the manure and other organic materials and allowed to compost. This process requires turning the pile so the composting kills pathogens but not overheat and kill the microbes.

Once the compost process is complete, a portion then goes into a large “tea bag” and is left to aerate in a large cistern of water while the rest is used as a soil amendment. The resulting frothy tea, teaming with cultivated microbes, are sprayed onto the field where they continue digesting organic matter into usable nutrition for crops.

(Woodbury, TN) — Short Mountain Distillery is pleased to announce securing $1 million in capital investment for a planned spirits manufacturing facility in Cannon County near Woodbury, TN.

The financial commitment comes weeks after a local group gained the support of voters through a county wide referendum in November. Voters in every precinct voted to allow the distillery to be built and operated on Short Mountain.

“Today’s $1 million investment shows our commitment to the people of Cannon County and the state of Tennessee,” said local farmer Billy Kaufman. “We are now a big step closer to building an American brand we can all be proud of.”

The financial commitment to the distillery by Billy and his brother David Kaufman will help create jobs and promote sustainable agriculture and business practices that focus on work with local farmers and businesses.

“Our investment is not just in a building and a product,” said David Kaufman. “It is also an investment in quality, hard work and values that have always made our country strong.”

The Kaufmans are the great grandsons of Jesse Shwayder, the founder of iconic American brand Samsonite 100 years ago in 1910. Their grandfather, Louis Degen, brought Samsonite to Murfreesboro, TN where it employed many Middle Tennessee families for decades.

Short Mountain Distillery will produce Tennessee corn whiskey and moonshine in an area famous for distilled spirits for over 150 years. Moonshine from the hills of Cannon County was praised in song by Uncle Dave Macon on the Grand Ole Opry’s 1939 television debut and other stars of country music. Cannon County boasted close to 20 operating distilleries in the 1800s.

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Billy Kaufman holds dirt John Whittemore plowed for the distillery.

This isn’t exactly what corporate America would call an official ground breaking, but in its own special way that’s exactly what it is.

Local farmer John Whittemore started early Friday morning plowing the rich farm land where Short Mountain Distillery’s first organic corn crops will be planted this coming Spring.

The spot is roughly 4 acres on the future home of the distillery, nestled in the rolling hills of Short Mountain in Cannon County. The distillery will need well over 100 tons of corn a year to make our fine Tennessee whiskey and moonshine, and we intend to get every bit of it from Cannon County and surrounding Tennessee farms.

We know we won’t get all of our corn organic at first. Over time, we want to help farmers we work with adopt more sustainable practices and help preserve our agricultural heritage for generations to come.

We also know the yield might not be as good as the corn Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel have shipped in from other states, but we also know what we’re producing is something we’re all producing together.

That’s what makes this unofficial ground breaking so special when you think about it, because this is where it all begins. This is the start of something real and something wholeheartedly Tennessee.

I got a call yesterday from a guy in North Carolina who makes a very cool 750 ml glass jug bottle. His pitch was simple. It would make a great container for Tennessee moonshine, and best of all, it’s made in America.

Ever since voters in every precinct of Cannon County voted Nov. 2 to allow us to build Short Mountain Distillery, the calls and emails have provided some perspective on the character of America in a time of great need.

You can hear the eagerness in America’s voice. It’s not defeated. It’s not the voice of fear you hear on cable news. It’s the sound of America doing what we do best: work.

It comes in calls from small businesses who will make the bottles, labels, boxes and barrels, and emails with resumes expressing big hopes to be one of the folks we’ll need to build and produce a locally owned American brand of whiskey.

Countless hands will work to build some part of Short Mountain Distillery. Some may not realize it as they become busy filling our orders, making lunch for a tourist, or passing by acres of local corn we’ll need. Still more will never see our impact in the lives and economy of our community and our great state. But it’s there.

Our needs create jobs: employees, architect, farmers, builder, concrete, steel, consultants, attorney, accountant, boiler, forklift, box truck, fermenters, dry wall, pot still, bottles, bottling machine, labels, paint, barrels, racks, computers, point of sale systems, boxes, grain, air compressors, signage, kitchen sinks, security systems, water, power, prep tables, insurance, phones, landscaping, office furniture, merchandise, advertising, and much more.

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Short Mountain Distillery consultant Jim Massey speaks with the Cannon Courier on the road ahead for Short Mountain Distillery.

Massey does an excellent job addressing Short Mountain Distillery’s responsibility to the community through strict adherence to local, state and federal regulations. Below is an excerpt from the story.

The sale of liquor is not legal in Cannon County. How can Cannon County residents be assured that none of the distilled spirits will be sold locally via an underground market?

Non-compliance with the TTB rules and laws as well as the State rules and laws would result in the loss of the distiller’s license and under your scenario, both Federal and State criminal prosecution.  It would be absolutely ridiculous to risk the investment it takes to open a distillery by selling illegally.

Increased crime is a concern expressed by some opponents of the operation. What is your response to those concerns? Have you conducted any studies to determine whether crime increases in counties or communities where liquor is distilled?

I have not done any formal studies on increased crime, however, I cannot imagine that gainful artisan and agricultural jobs add to crime.  The Federal and State requirements of secure storage should deter any type of vandalism as well as the owners need to protect their valuable resources and work product.

How will the finished product be transported to market? Will there be security measures in place during transport?

Product would be shipped just as it is in Lynchburg, by secure trucks to licensed wholesalers.

How will the product be marketed and sold?

The Government requires all beverage alcohol sales to go through a 3 tier system: Manufacturer (distiller) – Wholesaler – Retailer.  Taxes are collected at each level.  SMD will be required to sell only to a licensed Wholesaler in Tennessee.  The Distillery can then buy back from the wholesaler it’s own commemorative bottles in 750 ml to have for limited sale on premises (for off premises consumption only, meaning all local laws would apply to prohibit public consumption, again, just like Lynchburg).

Some opponents are concerned a distillery will tarnish the county’s image. What is your response to those concerns, and in what way, if any, will you address them?

Distilling spirits is a time honored craft.  Our Country’s first President, George Washington, was the new nation’s largest distiller at one point.  Every signer of our Declaration of Independence participated in some form or fashion in the art of distilling.  Distilling is an agricultural process and provides our area farmers a unique opportunity to earn good money from honest work.